Leonidas
Leonidas Character Description According to Herodotus, Leonidas' mother was his father's niece and had been barren for so long that the ephors, the five annually elected administrators of the Spartan constitution, tried to prevail upon King Anaxandridas to set aside his wife and take another. Anaxandridas refused, claiming his wife was blameless, whereupon the ephors agreed to allow him to take a second wife without setting aside his first. This second wife, a descendent of Chilon the Wise, promptly bore a son, Cleomenes. However, one year after Cleomenes' birth, Anaxandridas' first wife also gave birth to a son, Dorieus. Leonidas was the third son of Anaxandridas' first wife, and either the elder brother or twin of Cleombrotus.[3] Because Leonidas was not heir to the throne, he was not exempt from attending the agoge, the public school that the sons of all Spartans had to complete in order to qualify for citizenship.[4] Leonidas was thus one of the few Spartan kings to have ever undergone the notoriously harsh training of Spartan youth. Cleomenes succeeded to his father's throne somewhere between 520 and 516 BCE.[5] Dorieus was so outraged that the Spartans had preferred his half-brother over himself that he found it impossible to remain in Sparta. He made one unsuccessful attempt to set up a colony in Africa and, when this failed, sought his fortune in Sicily, where after initial successes he was killed.[6] Leonidas' relationship with his bitterly antagonistic elder brothers is unknown, but he married Cleomenes' daughter, Gorgo sometime before coming to the throne in 490 BCE.[7] Leonidas was clearly heir to the Agiad throne and a full citizen at the time of the Battle of Sepeia against Argos (c. 494 BC). Likewise, he was a full citizen when the Persians sought submission from Sparta and met with vehement rejection in or around 492/491 BCE. His elder brother the king had already been deposed on grounds of purported insanity, and had fled into exile when Athens sought assistance against the Persian invasion that ended at Marathon (490 BCE). Plutarch has recorded the following: "When someone said to him: 'Except for being king you are not at all superior to us,' Leonidas son of Anaxandridas and brother of Cleomenes replied: 'But were I not better than you, I should not be king.'"[8] As the product of the agoge, Leonidas is unlikely to have been referring to his royal blood alone but rather suggesting that he had, like his brother Dorieus, proven superior capability in the competitive environment of Spartan training and society, and that he believed this made him qualified to rule. Leonidas was chosen to lead the combined Greek forces determined to resist the Persian invasion in 481 BCE. This was not simply a tribute to Sparta's military prowess: The probability that the coalition wanted Leonidas personally for his capability as a military leader is underlined by the fact that just two years after his death, the coalition preferred Athenian leadership to the leadership of either Leotychidas or Leonidas' successor (as regent for his still under-aged son) Pausanias. The rejection of Leotychidas and Pausanias was not a reflection on Spartan arms. Sparta's military reputation had never stood in higher regard. Nor was Sparta less powerful in 478 BCE than it had been in 481 BCE. This election of Leonidas to lead the defense of Greece against Xerxes' invasion led to Leonidas' death in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE. Trophy Description This tournament swarms with kings, the honor of whole countries at stake for 1 on 1 fights... not including this one wouldh've been such a blasphemy! The honor for his land has already been defended in very crazy ways... Well with his shieldwhile-walking approximation tech, one can understand 300 Spartans slaughtering thousands of Persians! Not to mention the spear throwing, which will force those lazy asses to the Spartan way! We know this is madness, but as long as he's here to deny it, THIS IS SPARTA! Moveset Ground attacks Aerial attack Grab and throw Other attacks Special moves Misc. Role in The Subspace Emissary Leonidas first appears in Sparta when some Shadow Bugs start arriving to his hometown, creating Primids. The king unleashes his fury on a Primid, kicking it down into the abyss. After most of the invading forces are wiped out, Leonidas chases the remnants of the forces. He doesn't realize that a Subspace Bomb was activated at Sparta until the bomb detonates, engulfing the city in darkness. The Spartan King notices that Dr. Robotnik was responsible for the invasion and chases Robotnik towards the cliffs. During the chase, Xerxes summons his Persian Army to ambush Leonidas, but he fails, and Leonidas resumes his chase. Leonidas finally catches Robotnik in a grassy field. Robotnik retaliates by summoning Scratch and Grounder to handle Leonidas while he escapes. The king destroys Grounder (while leaving alone Scratch, who flies off) and continues his journey. Entering the Persian Forest, Leonidas declares vengeance on his doomed city by slaughtering numerous Persians until he meets the Persian Messenger, who was not happy about their last encounter. After the Persian Messenger's defeat, a trophy of King Harkinian falls from the sky and in front of Leonidas. Leonidas revives the trophy, and the Hylian king realizes that the Spartan king is hunting down the same person who trophied The King earlier (Robotnik). From the meeting, the two kings heed through the burned forest. The kings later meet Xerxes and Robotnik, who summon Persians and Badniks to destroy them. The kings fight off the attackers, forcing the partners in crime to retreat. In the Final Forest, Leonidas hears Gaston trophying I.M. Meen and charges towards him. Gaston prepares to shoot Leonidas with his Dark Cannon, but the Dark Cannon was destroyed by The King's dinner. Frollo, arriving on time, blocks Leonidas from slicing Gaston with his own sword, and then the four fight. The kings win against Gaston and Frollo and revive I.M. Meen, who joins them on their journey. Playable appearances *Sparta *Persian Forest *Final Forest Snake Codec Snake: Hey... that's Leonidas isn't it? Otacon: Good eye Snake! He's the king of Sparta. He also is the captain of his army. He's got spartans to spare... A force that will kick your butt. Snake: Tell me more about Leonidas... Otacon: But you already know him don't you? Snake: I've just seen his movie. Otacon: Well, um... He used to be a weakling, but countless trials over the years have toughened him up. Snake: Yeah I know that... Otacon: Yeah, well... The king who fought that epic battle with Xerxes was this guy. Snake: That was a long time ago... what about now? Does he get along with Xerxes? Otacon: Nope, they're still at it... Seems that they're always competing in something: Bloody Wars... Kart racing, sports... you name it. Snake: You know... seeing Leonidas here reminds me: We should try that thing we always wanted to try... Otacon: Oooh! Yeah! That thing! Good idea! Ok, ready... GO! Snake: This is Sparta. Otacon: This is Spartaah... Snake: Wow... we REALLY suck at this... Otacon: Yeah... Gallery Palette swaps Artwork Leonidas.jpg|Leonidas' old artwork. Screenshots Video Smash Bros Brawl Character Moveset - Leonidas|Leonidas' Moveset Trivia *Along with Billy Mays, Leonidas is the only YouTube Poop character that isn't animated. 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